Monday Musings: What makes for a successful comeback?

When a musician falls out of the limelight, there are two things that can happen to that musician: One, they can fade into irrelevance and live off of the money they've already made, or two, they can make a successful comeback. When those comebacks aren't successful, they default to Option One. It's a sad life. But if the comeback is successful, then the musician will go on to even more notoriety and fame. So, what's the difference between a successful comeback and an unsuccessful comeback? First, let's take a look at an example of the former: Mr. Cool, Justin Timberlake.

It was a 7-year gap between Justin Timberlake's hit album FutureSex/LoveSounds and his comeback album The 20/20 Experience. And we came back to embrace him like he had never left us. He fit in with the new pop world so seamlessly. Just think: Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Adele, Mumford & Sons. Those names didn't even exist in our social consciousness when JT's album came out in 2006. But apparently we've needed JT back in our pop music system, because he came back and we savoured it. So maybe a comeback solely depends on how successful an artist is before his comeback.

Then again... maybe not.

This is "Butterflies", a single Michael Jackson released in early 2002. It went all the way to #14 on the charts, a strong feat for many artists, but not for MJ, who was the biggest music star of the 80's without question. So what happened? Well, in addition to "Butterflies" just not being a very good song, especially for MJ, he was suffering a lot of controversy over his alleged molestation charges, which probably made the public hesitant to accept him back into the mainstream. In fact, I remember that it was cool at the time to hate on everything Michael Jackson, and make disgusting pedophilia jokes and such.

So, maybe a successful comeback depends on the reputation you leave in the time between the success and the comeback. If you fly under the radar and don't fuck up your image, you'll master the comeback just fine. If you get into trouble, well... it'll be a tricky mountain to climb.

I think that a comeback also relies on your ability to move with the times of changing musical styles. New Kids on the Block were quite a successful group in the late 80's and early 90's. It was when they released this...

...that people hopped off of the NKOTB Express. So it depends on the reputation you lead in your dry period, and your ability to adapt with the times. You got those two things in check, you're all set. OR ARE YOU?

Yeah, most likely.